Dawning Fire
by DWH
Summary: Prequel Trilogy AU. A mysterious attack occurs on Dantooine, and the only evidence is the charred stem of an Alderaanian flame rose. Can Anakin and ObiWan discover the perpetrator? Much updateage Feb 1.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue 

The Republic Security Training Facility had been bombed once before.

Nobody remembered, of course. The last time someone had bothered to bomb it, it was still a Jedi training facility. Those had been dark days for the Order, and some surmise it was sheer stubbornness that motivated the handful of Jedi that were left to rebuild upon the ashes of their former home. Four millennia later, no one seemed to care. The scars that Darth Malak's fleet had left in the countryside had long since healed. The citizens of Khoonda carried on much as they ever had before the destruction of the Enclave and much of the surrounding countryside. Dantooine remained complacent for thousands of years, converting the one-time Jedi Enclave into a training facility for Republic Security forces. Dantooine was remote, largely agrarian, and generally speaking, no one paid it much mind.

The first time, it was bombed to make a statement to three specific individuals. A high cost for such a point to be made, to be sure. The second time, however, nobody could discern _why_ it could have been bombed. Chancellor Palpatine decided to personally accompany a team of investigators sent to discover the motive behind the attack. During his stay, a second, much more violent explosion happened, and Jedi teams were dispatched immediately to investigate the situation. The Chancellor escaped unharmed. His Jedi protector, however, did not.

Masters Yoda and Mace Windu stood somberly before Sifo-Dyas' funeral pyre, illuminated only by the flickering flames. It was only his robes and personal effects, as Jedi vanished upon becoming one with the Force, but that did little to ease the blow. Sifo-Dyas had been a superb Master, a talented warrior, and a good friend.

"Master Yoda, Master Windu, I cannot express how sorry I am that this accident cost you one of your Jedi."

The Masters looked up at the sound of the Chancellor's voice. Of course, the Chancellor was present. Every politician on Dantooine seemed to be present. To be fair, however, Sifo-Dyas had been his personal bodyguard, so it was a proper show of respect to be there.

Yoda, however, was more interested in the Chancellor's choice of words. "Accident? Accident, you say?"

Seeing Palpatine's confused look, Mace elaborated. "Master Yoda suspects- and I agree with him- that the first attack was simply to lure you to Dantooine, and the second was designed specifically to kill you."

"Attack?" His face shifted from confusion to incredulity. "Masters, I greatly appreciate your concern for me, but there are many would-be assassins of any chancellor. I see no reason to believe that the first explosion was anything but negligence and the second could have easily been some stray mercenary."

"You said that Sifo-Dyas gave you no warning, that he did not feel the danger," Mace probed.

Palpatine shook his head slowly. "No. If he felt anything, he certainly did not speak of it to me."

"Then believe me when I tell you he felt nothing." Palpatine looked ready to protest, but Mace continued. "A Jedi of Sifo-Dyas' training would have sensed a mercenary or bounty hunter and told you immediately. Another power is at work here."

"Unforseeable this malice was, and plotted carefully," Yoda nodded in agreement. "You must tread with care, Chancellor."

"The Jedi Council has agreed that you should be extended our constant protection- and we would prefer it if you would accept a guard of Jedi at all times."

There was a long pause as the Chancellor considered this. Finally, he replied, "My own guard will stand well enough on Coruscant, Master Windu. When I leave, however… I think I shall be quite glad of your offer." He gave a very slight bow and turned away to greet an approaching senator.

The Jedi returned their attention to the effects turning to ash under the flames. It was a long while before either of them spoke, not wishing to pay any disrespect to their friend.

"The Chancellor is an impatient man when it comes to his own security," Mace observed once the fires started to die down. "But we can hardly force him to accept our offer if he is determined to resist."

"But track him we can," Yoda stated firmly. "And should."

"He will need the Jedi if he has indeed been marked by a dark power-"

"Feel it also do you?" Yoda shook his head. "No stray mercenary was this. No hired hunter. The mark of the Dark Side is branded on this deed."

Mace turned back to the smoldering embers and closed his eyes. "That is what I fear."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One 

Mid-afternoon at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. It was Anakin's favoured time for practicing his combat skills, and he could be found, without fail, in one of the training rooms honing his lightsaber technique.

In the absence of his Master, Yoda had been instructing Anakin in some of the finer points of lightsaber combat. At first , Anakin had been skeptical that the diminutive green Master could do anything with a sword. This impression had not lasted longer than five minutes. Pouring all of his strength into his attacks, he tried in vain to get a single blow past Yoda, who, without even moving, easily parried the strokes.

It was a most frustrating exercise, to be sure. However, it did do wonders for his form.

Obi-Wan's return came in the midst of one of these sessions. Throwing open the door energetically, he raced into the room, finding his Padawan and Yoda in fierce combat. Sensing his Master's presence, Anakin's face lit up with a delighted smile. "Obi-Wan!"

"Mind what you are doing, Skywalker!" Yoda admonished as he directed a particularly nasty stroke at the Padawan. Anakin had to duck to barely avoid it, and he returned with a few strokes of his own. Finally, Yoda nodded and put his blade away. "Enough, Anakin, for today."

Obi-Wan stepped up behind Anakin and heartily slapped him on the back. "Been living well without me?"

"Without you?" Anakin grinned and shrugged. "Master Yoda has been teaching me."

"A fine Padawan have you trained, Obi-Wan." Obi-Wan smiled with a sort of pride between that of a father and a brother at Yoda's praise. Yoda simply returned the smile and nodded. "Very fine, indeed."

Anakin bowed his head respectfully. "Master Yoda is kind to me. I have a long way to go before I can say I'm a Jedi."

"Jedi learn all their lives, Skywalker. You need not know everything before you face the Jedi Trials." Anakin bowed his head once more, but Yoda had already shifted his attention to Obi-Wan.

"Master Yoda." Obi-Wan bowed formally, all traces of levity now gone.

"So. Returned you have."

Anakin perked up with curiosity. "Did you find anything, Master?"

"Patience, Padawan," Yoda chided him, then turned back to Obi-Wan. "News from Dantooine, have you?"

"Yes, Master, and none of it good." Obi-Wan reached into one of his pouches and produced a blackened rose stem. He handed it to Yoda, who gingerly examined it.

Anakin peered questioningly at the stem, and Yoda nodded that he may pick it up. He held the stem carefully, looking it over thoroughly. "Roses?"

Obi-Wan looked sternly at Anakin, reminding him it was his place to be quiet at present. Addressing Yoda, he continued. "A very… _unique_ type of rose, Master. See how this rose stem is blackened from the fire?"

"But what kind of-"

"Anakin, wait for a moment. There is only one kind of rose that can survive an explosion like the one that killed Sifo-Dyas. They're called flame roses."

"Flame rose, Obi-Wan?" Yoda pondered this for a moment, then shook his head. "This is something of which no knowledge I have."

"Few do, Master. I took the liberty of looking it up in the archives when I arrived. It's a red-orange flower that bursts into flame every morning at the first light of dawn. The petals burn to ash and then it buds again by evening."

Anakin's eyes lit up with recognition. "The report I read said the attack came at dawn-"

"So it did," Obi-Wan confirmed. "The facility exploded early in the morning and I found this in the quarters that, according to an administrator, Sifo-Dyas slept in. The fire from the roses triggered a plasma bomb set into the wall. It killed everything within a mile radius."

Anakin considered this, then scratched his head in confusion. "Then where was the Chancellor, since he escaped?"

"The Chancellor is apparently quite the early riser." Obi-Wan could only shrug. "He told me he was far enough away inspecting a hospital containing the wounded from the first explosion. Subsequent questioning of the staff confirms his presence at the hospital. But it was far enough away that the blast simply shattered the windows of the hospital, instead of destroying the building."

Yoda paced back and forth for a few moments. "Were there signs of dark activity?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Other than it is too highly convenient for an accident? No. I doubt, however, that any such act could be planned and executed with such mastery by another. The rose is a mark of deliberate planning from a sentient hand, and Sifo-Dyas felt none of the danger. I cannot believe that the Dark Side was not involved in masking the plot."

"Trace the rose stem-"

"I have. But Master, this is truly odd: the rose was easily found. The flame rose is grown naturally only on Alderaan. There is no other place in the known galaxy where it has evolved."

"Alderaan. Unexpected this development is. Viceroy Organa will not be pleased. But cooperate, he will, when you arrive." Yoda rested his hand on his gimer stick and looked at the pair intently. "To Alderaan you and your Padawan will go with your proof, Obi-Wan, and find out who owned these roses. Bring the assassin to trial, we must."

Obi-Wan and Anakin bowed to the diminutive Master, then exited the chamber. Strolling down the hallway, Obi-Wan smiled once more and looked over at his Padawan. "Did you lose any sleep over my absence?"

"Worse, Master." Anakin looked at him quite solemnly. "I cried myself to sleep every night."

"I thought so."

"I've been fighting Master Yoda every day," Anakin said, more seriously. "I'm lucky he would take his time to teach me."

"You looked good. He's right: you are a good apprentice. Your stroke is much cleaner now; less flash, more power. However," he paused with a slight smile, "you're still a little sloppy."

"I wouldn't want to put you out of a job _yet,_ Master." He gave Obi-Wan a look that was ridiculously roguish, and neither could keep a straight face for long.

"You'd best pack, Anakin." Obi-Wan stopped as their paths were about to diverge. "We leave for Alderaan as soon as possible."

"I'll be ready," Anakin assured him. He started walking down his own hall, but stopped and looked back at Obi-Wan. "Master… what if it is the Dark Side, and the murderer _is_ a Dark Jedi?"

"Then he will stand trial like anyone else, my Padawan." Seeing his apprentice was not convinced, he added, "Don't worry about it, Anakin. Even a Sith Lord will have trouble facing two Jedi."

Anakin still did not look entirely sold on the idea, but it was pointless to deliberate. "I'll go pack. And this time I won't forget the power converters."

Obi-Wan grinned mischievously in return. "Just don't forget to pack a formal gown. We want to impress the Viceroy." The look of horror on Anakin's face was almost complete, so he continued, "Your lilac one is particularly flattering."

Anakin, not having any way to respond to the suggestion, merely bowed magnanimously before heading down his hall. "As always, your advice is flawless."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two 

Within hours, Obi-Wan and Anakin boarded the small Jedi shuttle to depart for Alderaan.

Entering the cockpit, Obi-Wan started going through the take-off checklist. "Did you send out our transponder code?"

Anakin merely looked back at him reprovingly as he slid into the pilots' seat. "No faith in me at all, Master."

"And who said you got to drive?"

"Sorry, Master," came Anakin's sarcastic, but good-natured reply. "I forgot how much you love flying through Coruscant, avoiding all the speeders and buildings, dodging around the traffic control freighters in orbit-"

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan sighed, as his Padawan _was_ quite correct. Flying was, perhaps, his least favourite passtime. He did not, however, need to rub it in. "Just power up the ship."

Grinning, Anakin obliged. While Obi-Wan despised flying in every form, Anakin reveled in it. It was one of his few pursuits outside his training, and he had gotten quite good at it over the years.

"Did you remember to get two 'droids?"

"We have two astromech 'droids. An A2-M3 and an… an…" he searched his memory, which was clearly failing at that point. "I don't remember. But we have two."

"Alright. Just so long as we don't only have one like that disaster on Callus III-"

Anakin groaned, trying not to flush in embarrassment. "You had to drag that up again. I was _fourteen_ when I did that. I haven't forgotten them since then."

"I know, Anakin. Your attention to detail has improved remarkably."

"Yeah, yeah." Anakin focused his attention on the controls and started to take off gently. "Restraints on, Master?"

"What? Why?" Obi-Wan's inquiry was cut short as Anakin abruptly sped up. "Anakin, none of your-" He was again cut off as the shuttle veered upwards at a nearly ninety-degree angle, narrowly missing several accidents as it made its way out of Coruscant's atmosphere. They ended up safely in orbit, and Obi-Wan was finally able to finish his sentence, "… usual stunts."

His Padawan's laughter was the only answer he had as the shuttle took off towards Alderaan, disappearing into hyperspace.

The Great Hall of Alderaan was the prime example in the galaxy of simplistic beauty. Where many planets would have opulent halls, richly coloured tapestries, and a show of the planet's wealth, the Alderaani philosophy was that nature was the greatest beauty. Instead of walls showcasing the paintings acquired over the millennia, They were made of transparisteel, separated by massive white columns so that the hall was naturally lit by day, and afforded an exquisite view of the plains and nearby Aldera Lake.

It was the only hall of its kind that Obi-Wan had ever seen, and he had to admit that the appreciation for such simple beauty was rare. Approaching the doors to the main chamber, he paused. "Anakin, you'd best let me do the talking. The Viceroy will not be pleased. Men like Organa like to believe they have complete control over their systems."

Anakin looked at him curiously. "But I thought that Alderaan _was_ entirely peaceful."

"The majority are, Bail Organa included. But obviously someone slipped past them. He knows we are coming, this should not be a surprise for him, but still- it would be best if you remain silent." Anakin reluctantly nodded, and they entered the hall.

Viceroy Organa was seated at the far end of the room, attended by a small crowd of people. Organa rose as the Jedi approached, greeting them warmly. "Master Jedi, you do me honour. But I must confess I am surprised as to the necessity of this visit."

Both Obi-Wan and Anakin bowed respectfully. "I hope it will be but a small matter for your consideration, Viceroy. I am Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this is my Padawan learner, Anakin Skywalker."

Organa nodded politely at them both and responded, "I am Bail Organa, Viceroy of Alderaan. These," he motioned to the small crowd behind him, "are my family and advisors."

Obi-Wan bowed once more to the small group, then turned back to Organa. "I trust you have had news of the disaster on Dantooine?"

"Naturally," the Viceroy responded easily. "And the Jedi know that they can always turn to us for assistance. What is it you, or the Republic, can require in this case? We keep exhaustive records and have plenty of men, supplies… do you need help in your investigation?"

"Thank you for your generosity, Viceroy. I will not presume to ask so much. I actually have but one question for you." He reached into his pouch and produced the blackened rose stem.

One of the group- a family member, Obi-Wan guessed, given that she looked too young to be an advisor to the Viceroy- interrupted as soon as she spied the stem. "Where did you get that?"

Obi-Wan glanced at her, amused but serious, and smiled. "Well, that answers it."

The Viceroy looked admonishingly at the young girl. "Padme." She blushed slightly, and withdrew. "I apologize for my sister, Master Kenobi. What was your question, sir?"

"I was going to ask if you knew what this was, and where it comes from. It is clear that you- or at least your sister- knows what it is."

Organa answered stiffly. "Forgive me, Master Jedi, but where did you come by that?"

"In the ashes of the room of Master Sifo-Dyas on Dantooine, Viceroy."

Padme looked up at the Viceroy in surprise. "How is that possible, Bail?"

Obi-Wan answered. "I was hoping you could tell me. The records say that regulation of your Flame Rose is strictly monitored."

"And so it is," Organa agreed. "No flower could have left the planet without our knowledge of it."

"Excuse my interruption, sir," Anakin spoke up respectfully, "but surely the record of every sale does not come to you directly."

Organa nodded. "Indeed not. The growth and regulation of the Flame Rose is the domain of Alderaan Biotics, and every person who obtains a Flame Rose is extensively checked before they are allowed to purchase a flower. The process takes years and is quite thorough."

Obi-Wan considered this for several long monents. "A theft-"

"Would have been reported directly to security and then to me." Organa shook his head slowly. "I can assure you in all honesty that there has been no such event. Had there been a theft, _we _would have contacted _you_ for help, given the danger of these flowers."

"Can no other planet support this flower, my lord Viceroy?" Anakin inquired.

"I do not think so. No." Organa sighed. "Unfortunately, the stem that you hold must have been grown on Alderaan."

"Is there someone at Alderaan Biotics we may speak to?" Obi-Wan asked. "It is of critical importance that we find the man who killed Sifo-Dyas."

Organa heaved another sigh. "Of course. You may go there directly." He waved Padme forward, and she bowed to the Jedi. "My foster sister, Padme Amidala. She will take you to Alderaan Biotics and introduce you to Tobias Farsik, head of the guild."

"Thank you very much." Obi-Wan bowed respectfully. "We will depart immediately, and hopefully return with your sister by nightfall."

"Good luck, Master Jedi." Organa returned the bow. "To be honest, I think you will find it difficult to trace the flower. If the murderer managed to obtain it without our knowledge… well, I can only pray that Farsik will tell you something useful."


End file.
